Despite my fascination with the esoteric, I've never been really impressed with astrology. To be fair, I've never visited an a professional astrologer-most of my opinions have been formed after reading books about my sign. As I've said before, I try to keep both my eyes and mind open. I am open to the possibility of anything, but you're still going to have to prove it to me before I buy into it.
I'm a Scorpio, and apparently this is completely obvious to everyone-after they ask what sign I am. I suppose that Scorps do have a reputation for being dark and mysterious, which I guess I am. Kind of. At least once a month, someone will ask what sign I am, and when I tell them, they will give me a confident smirk and announce, "I knew it!" Really? If you were so sure, why did you feel the need to ask?

I remember being quite young and reading a book about my Scorpio personality. I discovered that I can be the life of the party, but also need alone time. I am not judgmental, except when I feel that someone is wrong. People sometimes think I am warm, but others find me cool. I can sometimes be shy, but I can also be very outgoing, depending on who I am with. Since people are drawn to my magnetic mystique, I attract a lot of friends...or only a few, depending on the way the stars align.

I think I was about twelve when I read this, and even at that tender age, all I could think was, "What a load of crap!" This description could have fit anyone in the world. Since I still found the concept of astrology to be very interesting, I didn't give up; I read several more books on the topic over the course of the next few years. Some of these books were more detailed and well-written, but my teenage mind was not far more skeptical. I started to see the underlying theme of generic information in all of these books. When my reading comprehension became a bit more sophisticated, I also began to pick up on what else the writers were doing: painting a picture that flattered the reader enough to want to believe it was true.

And now, years later, I still have little faith in the concept of astrology. But there is one aspect of this science (art?) that I actually do have some belief in, since it has screwed me over time and again: that damn Mercury Retrograde! I don't know if there is really something behind it, or if it is just me, but it never fails: each time it comes around, my life is filled with chaos and petty annoyances. It's never anything serious, but I do need to prepare for a few weeks of aggravation and frustration. If I mail a letter, it won't arrive. If I deposit money in my account, there will be some sort of mysterious hold that will cause all my checks to bounce. Random household items will fail and malfunction (I just lost my laptop, GPS, and favorite electric toothbrush-all at the same time!) Every plan that I make falls through; these past few days have been filled with misunderstandings and cancellations. Damn you, Mercury Retrograde!

So I'd love to hear from some readers: have you experienced this for yourselves? Or is it just me?